quote:Originally posted by KarlEd: Rivka, do you know where you're staying yet?
No, because I figured I should stay somewhere convenient.
I just haven't figured out if that means convenient to the airport, to where we're meeting up, or what.
This place looks good, (internet access, fridge/micro) but I don't know where it is relative to the places that have been discussed. Or to the airport.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Capitol Hill is short-to-long walking from the Mall, depending on where on the Mall you're going. (It's behind the Capitol, which is on one extreme end of the Mall.) It's a short cab ride, or metro to Dupont Circle. (DC's metro is clean and safe.)
I'd suggest staying close to the action, rather than near the airport. You can always get a shuttle to/from the airport, but you'll be thankful for having your hotel relatively close after a night of socializing. You also won't then have to cut your visiting short to drive/ride way out to the airport (Dulles, right? If so, not close to downtown DC.)
Capitol Hill isn't all that close to Dupont Circle, (but it's a lot closer than Dulles is). If most of Sunday is going to be Dupont Cirle and that area, then you might want to consider closer. (I have no idea where the Spy Museum is. Does anyone know if it's open on Sunday?)
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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How is the parking around Gallery Place/Chinatown?
Looks like it would make life easier to get tickets in advance for the spy museum. And wow, I thought everything in DC was pretty much free :X. It does sound like fun and I don't want to go cheap on you guys but with 753029482354 free things to do in DC, are we sure we want to do this?
I haven't really been to Dupont Circle other than a trip to a coffee shop one time but it looks like there's a lot to do out there. We could just meet up, walk around, look at houses, talk, drop into places that look interesting, get some food...if that's not too soft on the planning. I have no idea how the parking situation is in the Dupont Circle area though.
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quote:Originally posted by ladyday: How is the parking around Gallery Place/Chinatown?
IIRC, that's right by MCI Center and consequently there are a bunch of parking garages and I'd imagine there's a decent amount of street parking available on a weekend afternoon. I think Dupont's more or less the same, but I rarely drove there so I can't be sure.
Posts: 959 | Registered: Jan 2002
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That place is a lot closer to Dupont Circle. I've always parked on the street around Dupont Circle and in the afternoon, it's not too bad. Evenings get pretty bad, though, because so few residents have offstreet parking, and many areas are permit only. You really have to pay attention to signs. They will ticket and tow.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Then I guess the question is whether it's worth the extra $20 to be closer. Part of that equation is, what exactly are we doing?
For example, if people are just going to want to be social and play card games and such, we can do that there. If we're going to be going all over the place (especially since I will have a ride in the morning, when Diana picks me up for breakfast), then maybe I'm better off in the first place.
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I have a hide-a-bed and plenty of adjacent floor, but we'll have to plan well, since I live about 40 minutes toward Baltimore.
I was kind of working more from the backyard barbeque paradigm, but meeting in the city should be fine.
I would much prefer free activities for Sunday at least, insofar as we can. Is picnic dinner an option? I have church 1-4, but don't have a problem dropping folks at the New Carrolton Metro stop that morning.
Maybe I'll get my scooter learners by then.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I'm planning to stay at a motel in the DC area. Diana (who should get her butt in this thread (and back on Hatrack altogether, as far as that goes)) was hoping for a place to stay Saturday night. But she will have a car, and so shouldn't require transportation.
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I think that a bbq or picnic would be a great idea one of the days, I just don't know how feasible it would be logistically. If we do go that way and people need rides, I would be more than willing to do some chauffering.
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There is a free spy museum that is open 10-2 Saturday. They have a working ENIGMA that you can actually fiddle with.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Since my sister lives in Fairfax, VA area (near D.C. ) but is moving to Belgium in September, I certainly wish I could attend this, and make a side-trip to see her as well.
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:bump: If they're in the DC area, they are probably lying on the basement floor being as still as possible.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Oh! That's very sad, Kasie. Definitely for us, although your grandparents are probably okay with it.
We should do something the weekend before.
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Not to be completely insensitive, but does everybody think about the Science Museum at the National Academy of Sciences? It's not free, but it's five dollars, which is much cheaper than the spy museum. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Everything that has been suggested sounds like fun -- but could we pick something? Or several somethings?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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We could always figure out a way to have a large picnic on the mall and then maybe hit some museums? It would be pretty much free, but I don't know if everyone has already seen all the museums and is sick of them.
Posts: 1789 | Registered: Jul 2003
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rivka, How hard would it be for someone (me, for instance) to set up a kosher picnic? I'm guessing fresh paperplates, platicware, and cups would be kosher, right? (Or not?) Are there any foods that are by default kosher? (I'm guessing fruits? Anything else?)
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By the weekend before, do you mean just you and Kasie? Because I don't think rivka's travel plans are that flexible.
I'm happy to take rivka to the kosher deli if they have takeout.
Here's a link to museums and memorials on the mall. Someone has asked to not go to the Air and Space museum. I've never been in the new American Indian museum, but also the National Archives, and I barely remember going up the Washington Monument.
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The Washington Monument is best for tight groups (individuals, couple, or families) or for organized groups. It's definitely not a "drop by and drop in" thing. You have to get there early and get tickets and still stand in line. The Monument itself is a wonderful experience, but not very practical for a casual gathering like ours, I don't think.
I like the idea of the mall because it would be easy to decide on a museum on the spot there. Everything is basically walking distance, even the science museum katharina linked to above. The only thing is I don't know any restaurants in that area. But I would be good for either a picnic or for meeting at or heading to the closest kosher place, if there is one.
The mall would also be convenient for rivka if she stays in the Capitol Hill hotel she first linked to (I think).
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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quote:Originally posted by KarlEd: I'm guessing fresh paperplates, platicware, and cups would be kosher, right? (Or not?) Are there any foods that are by default kosher? (I'm guessing fruits? Anything else?)
Fresh paper goods are fine. Fresh fruit (and for the most part fresh vegetables) are also fine. Unopened packages of other things that bear a kosher symbol (list here, the two most common symbols being the O-U and the O-K) are also fine.
Diana and I (and Diana keeps promising me she will get herself back on Hatrack and post in this thread, but has yet to do so) can presumably hit the deli that morning.
Hmm. Except Eli's doesn't open until 11. Neither does the JCC. Stacks seems to have closed (presumably due to Abramoff's legal issues). And while the cafe attached to the Holocaust Museum carries sealed kosher lunches, none look terribly appealing.
So presumably Eli's or the JCC then.
I need to know today if I'm going to book at the place I linked at the top of the page . . .
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quote: The Washington Monument is best for tight groups (individuals, couple, or families) or for organized groups. It's definitely not a "drop by and drop in" thing. You have to get there early and get tickets and still stand in line. The Monument itself is a wonderful experience, but not very practical for a casual gathering like ours, I don't think
Ask about the walk-down tour. It's generally easier to get in to, although you still have to wait in line for the tickets.
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Stacks closed because Abramoff also owned a non-kosher restaurant at the same time he owned Stacks. The Vaad doesn't allow that.
Posts: 159 | Registered: Jun 2006
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I'll be coming from Bethesda, which is very near Rockville where this place is located. If someone would like to come up with a tentative menu, I could pick up anything we need for a kosher picnic on the mall, (and of course everyone would be welcome to bring anything else they want, right? Does having other non-kosher food around negate the kosher, as long as everything is kept separate?).
I like the picnic idea because: They're fun. They're very conducive to socializing (which is the point, right?) We'd be right there in the midst of dozens of museums, so spontaneity is an option.
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Karl- that probably explains why my mom never took us to the Washington monument again. I do think the American Indian looked quite arresting, and it's only been around for a year, give or take, but I'm also amenable to meeting on the mall and going with the flow. I have church from 1-4 but I could call in "sick".
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I also have church from 1-4, but I could go to one at 9 and spend the rest of the day hanging out with people. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Yeah. I think the picnic idea is the best of both worlds. It allows us to really talk and socialize, but we still have the option of doing something more active. And plus, we don't have to decide now. I think it will be easier to decide when everyone is together. Say, meet by the Smithsonian metro station, or somewhere memorable on the mall so that we aren't all just wandering about the place, especilly for me, since I won't know anyone by sight.
Edit: and what is this about August 19th? Are we hanging out then too? I'm so confused!
Posts: 1789 | Registered: Jul 2003
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There's a deli with take-out right near the KosherMart (that you linked to). It's called "Max's. I highly recommend their shwarma.
Posts: 159 | Registered: Jun 2006
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OK, shall we tentatively (?? barring objections) say Picnic on the mall? If so, could someone suggest some good things for me to look for at the kosher deli so we have a good spread? This could be a lot of fun, but I really want to do it right. (Should kosher cheese and kosher meats be kept in separate coolers? Are there any other restrictions I should know about in terms of transport? I plan to just purchase stuff and keep it all in the original packages until we all actually sit down to eat.)
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Karl, that sounds great. And there's no problem with other people eating non-kosher stuff, as long as it's kept separate. (To that end, anything you picked up would need to stay sealed until then.)
*peruses* They have sushi! I wonder if they have California rolls. *drool*
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Oh, and Evie, the thing with the 19th is that I didn't realize the 20th was a Sunday, so I planned for Saturday originally. Rather than completely change plans, I asked if anyone wants to get together on Saturday in addition to the Sunday stuff. For Saturday, tentatively, Chris, myself, and LadyDay have been discussing meeting at either the National Arboretum, or The National Zoo, probably around 1 or so. (We're still deciding, and so far no one else has given a firm confirmation of meeting on Saturday.)
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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quote:Originally posted by rivka: Kosher cheese and kosher meat cannot be eaten together . . .
I sorta knew that. Does that mean at the same sitting(i.e. you'll either eat meat or eat cheese at the picnic but not both) or just at the same time (i.e. a mutton and cheese sandwich)? (And it's all dairy, too, right? Not just cheese.)
And if one of them is to be banned at the picnic, which would you prefer to eat?
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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OK, sorry if the questions are getting pestering. If I buy both meat and cheese for those who aren't worried about kosher, should they be transported in separate coolers?
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Neither together nor at the same sitting. Not even one right after the other. Yes, it's all dairy.
I have a slight preference for meat (and fish is neutral, and can be served at the same meal as either meat or dairy).
Of course, there's nothing stopping the rest of y'all from having both. But considering that both kosher meat and kosher cheese are more expensive than their non-kosher equivalents, it seems silly to get both kosher.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Originally posted by katharina: I am completely free that Saturday and would love to meet y'all as well.
Do you have a preference of Arboretum or Zoo? Both are possible. I'm thinking we should meet at one or the other, enjoy it, then decide what to do next for those who want to stick around.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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quote:OK, sorry if the questions are getting pestering.
Not at all.
quote:If I buy both meat and cheese for those who aren't worried about kosher, should they be transported in separate coolers?
As long as each is securely sealed (preferably in at least two water-tight layers), the same cooler is fine. But it might be simpler to have them in separate coolers, if that's easily done.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Rivka, where are you for Shabbos? I have friends at Kesher Israel (http://www.kesher.org/) that run a hospitality program. They do a Friday night pot luck that you would be most welcome at
Posts: 159 | Registered: Jun 2006
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It's probably easy. Right now I'm thinking I'll drop Chris off with the food at the picnic site and then find a place to park and come back to meet you all. We'll have to pack it back up and take it to the car before doing museums, but I don't think that will be a problem.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Are lurkers welcome at this? I'm thinking this might be a good excuse to come down and hang out with my friends in D.C.
Posts: 159 | Registered: Jun 2006
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